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The Yamuna River – Case Study of a Polluted River in India

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The Yamuna River – Case Study of a Polluted River in India!

Most of the rivers in India are not polluted near their sources. However, many are polluted in the plains because of run-off from agricultural land, discharge of industrial effluents, and domestic sewage. The water of these rivers is not fit for drinking near cities and industrial areas. The following table lists some polluted rivers and the towns or cities near which they are polluted the most.

Case study of a polluted river—the Yamuna:

The Yamuna is one of the most important rivers of north India. It passes through Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh. It merges with the Ganga at Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. At one time, it was the lifeline for the people of the area, but today it is the most polluted river of the country.

Though the Yamuna starts getting polluted by pesticides and fertilisers as it enters Haryana, most of the pollution occurs in Delhi. More than 10 million people live in Delhi. Yet it does not have a proper sewage disposal system.

Nineteen drains from Delhi open into the Yamuna. At one time, these carried rainwater. But because of the poor sewage disposal system, water carrying sewage is discharged into these drains, from where it finds its way to the river.

In Delhi, along a stretch, the Yamuna is choked by water hyacinth—a weed. This is an example of eutrophication. Dead fish are also found in the river as soon as the monsoon begins. This is due to the sudden increase in pesticide and other pollutant levels.

Industrial wastes also find their way into the river from large industrial units (22 in Haryana, 42 in Delhi and 17 in Uttar Pradesh) and many small industrial units. Surprisingly, though Delhi constitutes only 2% of the catchment area, it is responsible for 80% of the pollution of the river.